Elise Stefanik: The new US ambassador to the UN: The battering ram of Trump’s ‘Israel first’ policy usa elections

On the mental map of Elise Stefanik, the next US ambassador to the UN, two countries are marked in red, one a friend and one a foe: Israel and Iran. It appears that except for China or Ukraine, New York’s Republican congresswoman is not into the curriculum. neocon He enthusiastically converted to the MAGA movement and for this he was awarded the embassy of ministerial rank. So Stefanik’s agenda won’t differ much from that of her Republican predecessor Nikki Haley. Neither does Democrat Linda Thomas-Greenfield, the current permanent representative of the United States to the multinational forum. Protecting Israel – through vetoing any Security Council resolution contrary to its interests – is a dogma of faith for all administrations, Democratic and Republican. Stefanik’s difference from his predecessors is his combative and extreme character when it comes to Israel’s defense.

Stefanik (Albany, New York, 40) spoke before a Knesset committee in May to promote “unconditional” aid to Israel. The United States, he said, should supply “whatever is needed, whenever it is needed, without any conditions to achieve complete victory against the evil that, according to him, is embodied in Hamas.”

His speech responded to President Joe Biden’s decision days earlier to halt the delivery of 3,500 bombs to prevent an Israeli military strike against Gaza, an even bigger catastrophe than the enclave’s long humanitarian crisis in a densely populated environment like Rafah. Was prevented from causing. Stefanik declared in the Israeli parliament, “Total victory will begin when those responsible for the October 7 (attacks) are wiped off the face of the earth,” similar to the tone used by the future Secretary of State for Hamas to refer to Hamas. . State, Marco Rubio.

In her speech before the Knesset, Stefanik elaborated on her favorite topic: the rise of anti-Semitism in the United States, which, at a hearing in the House of Representatives’ Education Committee last December, she said led to the aggressiveness of the Gaza war. Three rectors of other universities (MIT, Harvard, and Pennsylvania) called for the rectors’ response to pro-Palestine demonstrations on campuses.

The three rectors put themselves in profile when answering, concluding that they were too weak exorcism Stefanik’s case was such that the president of the University of Pennsylvania resigned almost immediately, and the president of Harvard resigned three weeks later. The pro-Palestinian mobilization that has visited American campuses for months, in which many Jewish students and donors have seen messages of anti-Semitic hate, was one of the main weapons used by Republicans against Democrats, and many believe that Without Stefanik’s prominence, the debate would not have reached such a fever pitch; In fact, most universities are still blocking entry to the campuses fearing a repeat of the protests. Stefanik once again stormed the Knesset, accusing pro-Palestinian activists of “calling for intifada and genocide” of Jews.

His enthusiasm was rewarded with the Defender of Israel Award, established by a couple formed by the late Jewish tycoon Sheldon Adelson – a supporter of the political careers of Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu – and Miriam, a major donor to the previous campaign. Republican’s. Stefanik also claims to have been part of Netanyahu’s personal entourage during a visit to the US Congress in July, before which he gave a particularly offensive speech.

The fact that Stefanik considers the UN an anti-Semitic organization – in line with Israel’s repeated attacks on the organization and its top official – does not prevent it from playing a role in principle, according to the new administration, and always at that. Trump’s opinion, depending on the situation, would be similar to Haley’s, with more polite manners and tone. His legacy at the United Nations was filled with headlines: He defended America’s withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran in 2018, calling it “terrible”; The United Nations Human Rights Council, in protest against Israel’s allegedly discriminatory treatment and leaving the Paris Agreement in 2017.

This established that countries could not withdraw in the first three years of its implementation (2016), so when Trump formally began his move to leave, Haley was no longer UN Ambassador. He resigned in December 2018, and it took the President eight months to find a replacement, a testament to his lack of interest in the United Nations. During that period, Haley was not a career diplomat, nor was her replacement, Kelly Knight Craft, a wealthy businessman and Republican donor – in charge of representation.

The reasons for Haley’s resignation have not been made public, but George Lopez, professor emeritus of political science at the University of Notre Dame, previously pointed to a lack of enthusiasm in defending Trump administration policies. “As Nikki Haley learned, as an ambassador you can follow an order not to vote in the Security Council, only to be called to the White House for not doing so or to make a statement explaining the situation. You may be reprimanded for a small mistake. of the United States for the press,” the academic explains.

Haley’s brief tenure at the United Nations was a shadow of Trump’s isolationist and contemptuous first-term foreign policy; But unlike then, when some career officials still served in Republican administrations, in the second one, hawks were elected to key positions. internationalAmerica’s relationship with the world, including Stefanik, appears more turbulent. Progressive Jewish groups described the ambassador-to-be’s speech as “extreme”, an excess of ideological fervor that Haley lacked despite her radicalism. israel firstA copy of the war cry, America first, Due to which Trump has got the White House back.

Of Stefanik’s potential role, Lopez, a two-time member of the U.N. panel of experts on North Korea, says: “I suspect she will have a difficult job. His diplomatic and United Nations experience contributes to this. The agenda that Trump has set to marginalize the United Nations from any significant role in resolving various wars, reducing the spread of nuclear weapons or mitigating climate change will also affect the UN. “In addition, the United States would be isolated from many of the organizations that fall under the umbrella of the United Nations, such as the International Health Organization.”

A decisive burden for this expertise will be “Stefaník’s ability to recruit personnel with experience in the functioning of the United Nations and especially the Security Council. The State Department’s Office of International Organizational Affairs, from which non-partisan personnel are typically assigned to the United Nations, could be eliminated under the Trump-Musk-Rubio cuts, in the context of State’s disbandment. A new department of government efficiency has been envisioned under the leadership of Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy. López advised Stefanik to “spend the entire month of December at the Mission (to the United Nations), when the United States will hold the presidency of the Security Council.” There you will be able to see the intricacies of the position and learn it very directly.”

There are no notable significant differences between Stefanik and Haley; As a Congressman, East has strongly condemned Democratic administrations for inadequately arming Ukraine and Israel and for allegedly kowtowing to China; He also criticized the hasty withdrawal from Afghanistan. His praise of Trump has, in every possible way, been fruitful, although the political dimension of his role is largely irrelevant… As long as his capitulation to Israel, the United States did not recognize the United Nations, his contribution to peace Missions are in progress – this is the country that contributes the most – or have finalized the Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA, in its English acronym), Israel’s worst enemy.